Bectu responds to Hodge review into Arts Council England

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs, responding to Baroness Hodge’s review into Arts Council England, said:

“Bectu welcomes Baroness Hodge’s review of Arts Council England (ACE) and proposals to protect and grow arts funding, defend the arm’s‑length principle, and replace overly prescriptive policy with a simpler, fairer system. ACE play a critical role in supporting and growing the creative economy and the highly skilled and talented workforce which is its backbone.

“Recognising that artists and freelancers are the essential drivers of our cultural ecosystem, we particularly back the recommendation to create a new national programme for individuals, paired with mentoring, to nurture talent in every region. We align with the Review’s push to cut red tape and unlock new resources through smarter tax reliefs, philanthropy and an ACE trading arm, alongside more local decision‑making.

“We urge these recommendations to be adopted by Government, DCMS and ACE, whose stability underpins thousands of jobs and the wider cultural ecology.”